Delvine Petyarre
Delvine Petyarre is the younger sister of well-known Utopia artist Anna Petyarre. Delvine was born in 1982 and shares the same stories and Country as her sister Anna. Delvine Petyarre is connected to Country at Atneltyeye, or Boundary Bore, which is located on the Utopia Homelands in Central Australia.Delvine, like her sister, learned her painting skills and stories from her family. Her mother was artist Glory Ngale and Delvine is also related to the famous artists Kudditji Kngwarreye and Emily Kame Kngwarreye, through her grandparents.Delvine Petyarre continues the tradition of using fine dot work to represent Country at Utopia, showing the undulating sandhills and formations of dry river beds that mark this landscape. The paintings are graphic representations, mostly rendered in black and white, that reveal the important sites and locations scattered across the landscape.The paintings continue the tradition of Anmatyerre women at Utopia who maintain the ceremonies and activities that are focused on maintaining the resources of the land. These include ceremonies for bush foods, bush medicines, and for the general health of the people and their country.Although less well-known than her sister, Delvine Petyarre is an accomplished painter whose fine skills will bring her work to the forefront of Utopia art. Aboriginal art status – undiscovered artist.
About the Painting
Country is more than just a place. For Delvine Petyarre, there is a deep physical, social, and spiritual connection to her country; the land she identifies with through the kinship system. Country provides all aspects of life. Delvine's country is Alhalkere which lies in the heart of Central Australia's Utopia region. The intricate strings of dots in this painting map Delvine's country and includes river beds, yam root systems, sandhills, and travelling lines.
